Exciting New Independent Film festival Is "Out For Justice" In Brooklyn Aug. 4 – 12

The 2012 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival kicks off with a free screening of cult classic Out For Justice and Steven Seagal lookalike contest. The AoBFF is the first to showcase filmmakers who are Brooklyn-born, Brooklyn-based and/or Brooklyn-centric.

The 2012 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival kicks off its sophomore year with a free screening of the Brooklyn-set, 1991 Steven Seagal cult classic Out For Justice, complete with a Seagal look-a-like contest. From August 4 –12 at St. Francis College’s Founders Hall and Maroney Theaters (180 Remsen St. Brooklyn, NY 11201) The 2012 AoBFF will feature forty-five premieres from all over the world, all of which have a meaningful link to the borough. This year’s selections include a Turkish film inspired by Brooklyn’s diversity, a documentary created by an Italian filmmaker about a Hassidic Brooklyn rapper and a claymation short by a young animator who was born and raised in Brooklyn…New South Wales, Australia. The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is the first to showcase emerging filmmakers who are Brooklyn-born, Brooklyn-based and/or Brooklyn-centric.

Executive Director Joseph Shahadi says, “Brooklyn is the first big art scene of the 21st century but major events mostly cluster around only a few north Brooklyn neighborhoods. Our innovation is simple: We include everyone, from Boerum Hill to Bergen Beach, Fort Greene to Flatlands. For us, it's only Brooklyn when you count all of it.” Centrally located in subway- accessible Brooklyn Heights, The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival is unique in that most of the founders were born in the borough. “This isn’t about hipster bashing though,’ the Philadelphia-born Shahadi says. “Creative people have always made Brooklyn their home. But now that the borough has become an international center for art and culture, excluding some people because they live in the ‘wrong’ neighborhood is unacceptable. There are no wrong neighborhoods or demographics. Everyone is invited to this party.”

In addition to new independent films The 2012 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival features special events, including a panel of award-winning female documentary filmmakers like Heather Quinlan, whose film on the New York accent If These Knishes Could Talk premiered at the AoBFF last year before earning national and international acclaim. Other events include talkbacks with filmmakers, after parties showcasing Brooklyn bands, food trucks featuring delicious street cuisine, nightly discounts at area bars and restaurants and more. Celebrity hosts will emcee select screenings, including documentary filmmaker and scholar Annette Danto and film and TV actor Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty, Resident Evil).

Hollywood has already taken notice. The official poster for The 2012 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival was chosen by a production designer for the bedroom of Dakota Fanning’s character in the upcoming Very Good Girls. The edgy design was the result of an international contest held by The Art of Brooklyn and won by Portuguese illustrator Tiago Moura. The director Elliot Lester (Blitz, Love is the Drug) said, “I heard about the AoBFF in Los Angeles from (producer) Dustin Williams and asked to be a judge. Brooklyn is long overdue for a major film festival. These guys are smart and well-connected, and I’m excited about this festival — it could be Brooklyn’s Tribeca.”

Festival Director Jason Cusato leads a jury of industry professionals who judge the winning films, including Lester and Mabius, actress/filmmaker and curator at Michigan’s prestigious Waterfront Film Festival Christine Elise McCarthy (ER, 90210), director/ producer Digger T. Mesch (Cinescape magazine’s Power 100) and TV personality/ film critic Bobby Rivers (VH1, Whoopi Goldberg Show.) Frequent Brooklyn resident Eric Mabius says, “ I have always loved Brooklyn, it is one of the most creative and productive environments in the world. These absolutely unique surroundings deserve to be celebrated with a festival possessing the Art of Brooklyn’s kind of vision: to be a major industry event that gets everyone excited about the things we already know. The whole idea of bringing New and Classic Brooklyn together — nobody else is doing that, until NOW.”